


Bleed Magic

by mywinghead



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bisexual Peter Parker, F/F, Gay Harley Keener, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Lesbian Abbie Keener, Lesbian Michelle Jones, M/M, Macy Keener is a Good Mom, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pansexual Lila Barton, Parent Tony Stark, Rose Hill is Full of Assholes, so much magic guys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-07 12:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21458359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mywinghead/pseuds/mywinghead
Summary: Growing up in Rose Hill is hard. Growing up gay in Rose Hill is harder. Growing up gay and Demonic in Rose Hill, well, that's damn near impossible.So, when, out of the blue, Tony Stark offers to bring Harley and his family to New York City, naturally he jumps at the chance.What he doesn't expect is to find such a vibrantly Magical community around him. And he certainly doesn't expect to meet a wonderful, strange boy, who's certainly a little above and to the left of human...
Relationships: Abbie Keener/Lila Barton, Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Shuri, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 22
Kudos: 99





	1. Lonely Little Life

**Author's Note:**

> I love parkner. And I love magic aus. This was just a natural progression. (I promise this will be better and longer than my single parkner week fic lmaoo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley kind of suffers,,, a lot,, in this

Harley felt the eyes trailing after him as he trudged through the streets of Rose Hill that evening. He felt, more than heard, the murmurs and winces and the parents shielding their children from him. One particularly brazen child tossed a rock at the back of his head, and Harley whirled around. “We don’t want your sort around here!” the kid’s older brother, probably, jeered at him. “Go back to the hole you crawled out of!” A million snarky responses flashed through his mind: _ I am, this is my street, _ or _ You first, we live in fucking Tennessee, _ or, or, or. But it just wasn’t worth it.

And then Abbie, sweet little Abbie, who everybody knew was just like Harley, but she didn’t look it. Her fluffy blonde hair and bright, owlish, blue eyes lent her an angelic, if otherworldly look. Harley, with his glowing red eyes; and his tendency to hiss at people who insulted him; and his forked tongue; could never compare to her. It was as if she was Harley’s saving grace. The shutters of their front window banged open, and Abbie leaned out.

“Oh, fuck _ off! _” she yelled, fixing them with a menacing glare.

“Freak isn’t worth it,” mumbled the younger one, as the pair turned tail and fled. Harley probably wouldn’t have heard if not for his enhanced hearing.

“Yeah? Say that to my fucking face next time!” he called after them, and took a grim satisfaction in hearing their pulses spike and watching them run a little faster. Abbie let him in the front door, and he grinned and wrapped her in a hug.

“Ew, get off me, you weirdo,” she protested, even as she buried her face in his shoulder.

“You didn’t have to do that for me,” Harley said, brushing some hair behind his ear. Abbie rolled her eyes,

“Do what? All I did was yell at them, and you were T-minus about three seconds from doing it anyway,” she replied offhandedly. Harley scoffed,

“You can’t bullshit me, Abbs. No matter how good you get at cloaking your magic, I’ll always be able to tell. You Compelled them to leave, and we both know it,” Abbie stamped her foot.

“_ Damnit! _ I thought I had it that time!” she sighed. “I would if I had anywhere to practise…” she trailed off, batting her eyelashes at Harley. He sighed heavily.

“Abbs. Momma says no. I say no, too, actually. I’m not letting you get targeted like I am around here,” he rested his head in his hands as he followed Abbie into the living room. She flung herself on the couch upside down, legs hooked over the back cushions. As her head lolled against the base of the sofa, she looked up at Harley beside her and asked,

“Everyone knows you and me are both demons, so how come it’s only you that gets…” she paused, scrunching her face up, “that?” Harley looked at her incredulously.

“You’re kidding, right?” She shook her head. “Because you look... normal. Because I… I _ don’t… _ I’m the scary demon, the one who steals children from their beds at night, the one who seduces their sons into his bed, _ infects _ them with his fucking queerness.” Abbie snorted at that.

“I’m guessing they don’t know what I was doing with Emma Clare last Friday,” Harley tossed a pillow at her head and she grunted in surprise.

“You can’t say that, you’re like _ twelve! _”

“I’m fourteen, asshole. I was kidding, anyway. I only kissed her.” she sighed wistfully, swinging herself upright on the couch.

“The rules are different for you, Abbs. You know people think I’m Cursed?” Abbie’s eyes widened, and Harley nodded. “Yeah. They think Momma was Cursed by some cruel and unusual force that turned her ‘poor darling child’ into… whatever I am. Some of ‘em even say she was having an affair, and that’s why I’m… like this.” Abbie clenched her fists, and Harley gave a bitter laugh, “They say that’s why Lucas left.”

“That’s not _ true!_” Abbie declared stoutly. “That’s not _fair!_ We’re gonna get out of here, Harls, I swear. You, me, Momma, all of us. Somewhere better for us, yeah?” she locked eyes with Harley and spoke with such conviction that he almost believed her. Almost.

*~-~*

The conversation quickly drifted from his mind- he had more important things to focus on than a pleasant daydream. He couldn’t afford to walk around with his head in the clouds. Last time he’d done that he’d ended up with a wad of saliva clinging to his jacket sleeve all day.

That particular school day had been… awful. Yeah, awful. They had their one arbitrary lesson a year where the word Inhuman wasn’t treated like a curse word, when they got ‘taught’ about magic and its culture. _ Inhuman._ God, Harley fucking _hated_ that term. In-fucking-human. Just another way to make the Magical sound lesser, worse. Because being underpaid for the same work wasn’t enough. Because having to witness literal debates in class about whether his kind should be_ put to death _ wasn’t enough. Because knowing that he wouldn’t have the same rights as a Human in his lifetime wasn’t enough. Because none of it was _fucking enough._ The entire class watched him, all sharp eyes and judgemental stares, waiting for him to snap. Well, he hadn’t given them the satisfaction. He’d worked diligently in the lesson, parroted off the anti-Magical rhetoric they spilled with a sharp-toothed smile that had long since faded. He was about ready to break down, and he still had to finish his walk home. He clenched his fists, desperately digging into the wells of his magic to put out what he and Abbie had nicknamed ‘a ward against assholes’. He made it home with only the usual amount of stares and whispers, and was surprised to hear Abbie and their mom talking from the hall. Usually, she’d have left for the diner by now, and- Oh. That wasn’t right. Momma was sat on the couch, tear tracks on her face, Abbie wrapped in her arms.

“Momma?” he asked, hating how broken his voice sounded. She sniffed, standing up and holding out her arms. He accepted the hug easily- he didn’t care how old he got, nothing would ever be better than hugs from his Momma.

“I…” she wiped her eyes, “I’m so sorry, love. You remember my manager quit a few weeks ago? Well,” she took a deep breath, “The new manager… has decided…” Harley could see the tic in her jaw that meant whatever she was about to say had made her _mad,_ and she was only keeping it together for his and Abbie’s sakes, “That- That the diner… would be better off without ‘my sort’,” Harley felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. “And he- he fired me.”

Fuck. _Fuck. _

“I’ll drop out.” Harley declared. It was really the only option. Once word had spread that Macy Keener had gotten fired from the diner, nobody in a ten-mile radius would hire her.

“Harley, you can’t-”

“Johnny doesn’t care that I’m Magical, he only cares that I’m good at fixing shit,” He could tell Momma was truly wiped out because she didn’t even try to reprimand him for his language. “He’ll hire me.” he said, sounding more confident than he felt.

“Or you could call-” Abbie piped up. He held out a hand to silence her.

“No, Abbie. We can come back from this, we don’t need to call Tony and worry him over nothing. I’ll get a job, Momma will find somewhere new to work, and everything will be fine. Okay? I promise,” He locked eyes with Momma and then Abbie. He hoped he sounded as convincing as Abbie had the other day.

The rest of the evening passed in a subdued pseudo-calm, all three Keeners wrapped in their own intense thoughts. Harley put himself to bed at nearing four a.m. and tossed and turned until he drifted off into a fitful, dreamless sleep.

*~-~*

He didn’t go to school the next morning. He woke himself up at just before six, gulped down a fuck-ton of straight black coffee- one of the biggest perks of being a demon, in his opinion, was that he physically could not burn himself- and left the house as quickly and quietly as he could. Harley preferred walking through Rose Hill at these sorts of times. Not only because less people were around so there wasn’t as much of a torrent of abuse for him to endure, but because the low light and cool breeze made him feel slightly more at peace.

Harley caught Johnny just as he was finishing opening up his shop.  
“I don’t s’pose you could use a hand ‘round here?” he inquired hopefully.

“Shouldn’t ya be in school?” answered the man gruffly. Harley waved his hand.

“Eh,” he replied with an air of smug confidence, “I’m too smart for them anyway,” Johnny shook his head fondly.

“Could always use another pair of hands around here, kid. Whenever you got time.” And Harley felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had a job, Momma and Abbie would be fine. They wouldn’t have to call Tony for charity. Maybe he’d have to go hungry a few nights a week, but it was going to be okay. Maybe Abbie’s (and secretly his too) dream of escaping to somewhere safer, somewhere happier, would come true after all.

His hands itched to work on something, and maybe Johnny could sense it, or maybe it was just luck, but the man pointed at a cluttered bench.

“That’s all scrap parts. Knock yourself out, kid.” Harley shoots him a grateful look and lets his body go on autopilot, just messing around with the parts to no real end. This kind of work always made him think of Tony. He should call him. He missed the man, had been considering going up to New York with Abbie to visit. Obviously, that was out of the question now, but it was a nice thought to entertain.

Some of his best memories from when he was younger were fucking around with spare parts in his garage, on the phone to Tony, who was also fucking around in his own lab. Sometimes they wouldn’t even talk, just enjoy each other’s company and take comfort in knowing that they understood each other, in some strange way, despite the fact that they couldn’t be more opposite.

Harley barely paid attention to the time, just let himself get lost in his own thoughts for hours and hours, because he so seldom got the time to do that- at school, he had to be constantly on the move to avoid the places he’d get the most attention, at home there was always something that needed to be done, around town he had to keep his head down, Harley could never _catch a fucking break. _So, whiling away his whole day doing mostly nothing was an absolute luxury, and he hardly considered the time. Which was why he practically jumped out of his skin when Johnny clapped a hand on his shoulder and told him it was time to lock up shop and go home.

*~-~*

Fortunately, it was dark out when Harley was walking home, which meant less people around to avoid. When he got home, Momma rushed out and wrapped him in a hug.

“Harley Tyler Keener, where have you _been?_” she demanded, “You were gone when Abbie and I woke up, your school called and told me you didn’t show up, and you didn’t answer your phone,” Shit. Harley must’ve left it at home. “And you know what happens when the Magical go missing in this town.” _Shit. _ He hadn’t even thought of that, fuck, he was such a goddamn asshole. “I was worried sick, Harley, and even Abbie didn’t know where you were.”

“God, Momma, I’m so sorry,” he said, casting his eyes downward in shame. “I was at Johnny’s, he said he’d hire me, and-”

“Harley.” Momma interrupted, “Absolutely not,” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’m not gonna be able to stop you, am I?” Harley shook his head grimly. “Okay. The rest of this week, and we’ll see how it goes from there.” He smiled.

“Thank you, Momma.” She sighed heavily.

“I should be thanking you, love. I’m sorry I put you in this situation.”

“Momma, none of this is your fault. If your stupid manager wasn’t an anti-Magical bigot, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” He could see Momma’s eyes start to mist with tears as she hugged him again.

“I’m so proud of you, Harley. I love you and your sister so much, never forget that.”

“I love you too, Momma.”

The next morning, as soon as Harley got into work, Johnny waved him over and told him,

“The Robinsons want their radio fixed. Feel like going over there to sort it?” Harley tilted his head quizzically.

“Aren’t you a mechanic?”

“Yeah, but, small town like this, folks don’t know the difference between a mechanic and a repairman. You up for it?”

“Sure,” answered Harley. Johnny pointed out a toolkit he could take and affirmed Harley knew the address. He headed out, head down to avoid attention, still grateful and surprised he had been hired in the first place.

He arrived at the Robinsons’ house- nice place, didn’t even compare to the tiny, cramped, place he, Abbie and Momma lived, but Harley wasn’t bitter, not at all- and knocked on the door. Mrs Robinson opened the door slightly, caught sight of Harley and hissed,

“What do _you_ want?” Swallowing down his pride and anger, he smiled pleasantly. Closed-mouth, so as not to offend her poor Human sensibilities.

“Johnny sent me, said your radio needed fixing?” She glared viciously at him.

“I’m not letting you in my house to put a curse on my family! Get yourself gone, or I’ll call the sheriff!” she exclaimed.

“Ma’am, I’m just here to fix your-”

“GO!” she yelled, slamming the front door. Harley stormed down the front steps, fists clenched. He pulled out his phone and angrily punched in Johnny’s number.

“Kid? That was quick,”

“I can’t… I can’t do this. I’m sorry,” his voice trembled. “I definitely can’t do house calls. Nobody in this fucking town wants me in their house. I might curse their children.” he snapped.

“Kid, you know I don’t care-”

“But they do!” he interrupted, “I quit, I’m sorry.” He hung up the phone and trudged home. On the way, a man stepped into his path, shoulders set like he was expecting a fight.

“Oi. What do you want, trying to infect Louise Robinson today? Huh?” Harley sidestepped, desperately trying to avoid a confrontation. “Answer me, you fucking freak! What were you gonna do? Kill her for one of your Inhuman rituals?”

“I was just there to fix the radio,” he mumbled, trying to sidestep again. The man shoved his shoulders, and Harley stumbled, suddenly thrown off-balance. He could feel his magic under the surface of his skin, itching to escape. The man made to shove him again, and Harley sent a tiny crackle of energy, barely more than a static shock, at him. A warning, nothing more. “Please go away,” He sounded so fucking _pathetic,_ he hoped it would make the man back off.

“What the _fuck _did you just do to me?” He squared his shoulders again, and Harley ran. He ran full-pelt down the street, all the way home, and as soon as he closed the door behind him, he slumped against it and started crying. Heaving sobs wracked his body as he let his misery pour out.

“Harley?” came a soft voice from the doorway. “Baby, what happened?” Harley gasped with the effort of getting his breathing under control enough to answer.

“I had- I had to quit. Th- The Robinsons, they- She- And then-”

“Shhh…” Momma pulled him gently to his feet and lead him into the living room. She settled down facing him. “One thing at a time, love. Why did you have to quit?”

“I-” He sniffed, “Johnny asked me to go and fix the Robinsons’ radio, and she- she- Mrs Robinson, she told me I couldn’t come in because I might ‘curse her children’.” He covered his face with his hands as he sobbed.

“Fucking bitch,” Momma _never_ swore, let alone twice in as many words. She held her arms out and allowed her son to slump into them. “I promise you, we’ll find a way out of this town.” she swore.

“And then, I was- I was walking home, and some guy, like, some adult man, came up to me and started yelling. And then he shoved me, so I shocked him with about as much energy as a static shock, and he looked like he was going to _murder_ me. It was- It was terrifying. I’ve never-” He started crying harder again, and he couldn’t even muster up the energy to apologise, just sobbed himself raw into his Momma’s shoulder like he was a little kid again. She just held him and let him cry, offering soothing murmurs and a gentle stroke of his head until he felt… not… better, but lighter.

“Baby, are you gonna be okay if I go pick up Abbie from school? I think the three of us should lay low for a while,” Harley nodded his agreement, not trusting his voice.

*~-~*

As soon as Abbie came in the front door, she came running into the living room and threw herself on Harley, hanging onto him.

“Momma didn’t tell me what happened, but if you’re this shaken up, it must’ve been awful. I’m so sorry, Harls.” she whispered.

“Thank you, Abbie. I… I don’t know if I’m gonna be okay, but I’ll try.” he promised her. Raising his voice slightly, he called out to Momma, “Is it okay if I go lie down?” he asked.

“Of course, baby.” He stood up and let himself be wrapped in a hug, climbed the stairs and physically fell into bed. He could hear snatches of Momma and Abbie’s conversations drifting through the floor, amplified by his enhanced hearing. Sleep evaded him, slipping through his grasp like wisps of smoke, and he was sure it would for a long while.

*~-~*

That night, somewhere in New York City, Pepper Potts bolted upright in bed with a strangled gasp.  
“Harley!” she choked out.

“моя любовь?” mumbled Natasha, sitting up sleepily. “What is it?” Pepper breathed heavily.

“It’s Harley. Something bad’s gonna happen if he stays there. Something’s gonna happen to him. We can’t- _Fuck!_” She brought a hand to her head sharply.

“Slow down, прекрасный. Breathe with me, okay?” She took one of Pepper’s hands in her own, rubbing her thumb across her knuckles soothingly. After a few moments, when Pepper’s breathing had slowed, Natasha smiled softly. “Who’s Harley, and what’s going to happen?”

“He’s this- He’s this _kid, _this demon kid, lives in Tennessee,” Natasha gave a sharp inhale and winced. “Yeah. Tony met him a few years ago, and we’ve sort of been looking after him from afar since. And, _oh God,_ we can’t protect him from here!” Her shoulders heaved as she breathed heavily.

“Listen, there’s nothing we can do until tomorrow morning, and I promise you, first thing in the morning, we’ll go to Tony, and tell him something’s going on, and pick the kid up from Tennessee.” Pepper sniffed, brushing away a tear from under her eye.

“But… But, Tony doesn’t believe in magic,” she replied, voice shaking, “What if he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong, and then Harley or Abbie get hurt!”

“He may not believe in magic, but he believes in _you, _Pepper. And anyway, if he says no, I can fly a quinjet,” She gave a conspiratorial smirk. “If you say something’s going on, you’re _always right._ Your Visions never lie. We’ll save the kids, and everything will be okay.” She kissed Pepper’s temple. “I promise you, everything will be okay.”

And Pepper let herself be held; and let herself trust her fiance; and _believed _everything would be alright.


	2. Potion Pleasing Medicines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little look into Peter's calm, undisturbed NY life and all the people who love him... What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY ITS BEEN LIKE A MONTH
> 
> and im sorry i made y'all wait so long for this mediocre crap lol ://////

“Look, there’s a reason we do our rituals in private- things can get out of hand and _sometimes_ we spit up blood. It’s not like we _mean_ to do it! Knock next time!” exclaimed MJ. Peter snorted.

“I just can’t believe I didn’t know you were in Ms Potts’ coven,” he replied, still laughing. “You guys are the reason they’re afraid Witches are gonna take over the world,” He heard her dramatically flopping down on her bed through the phone.

“You know, I would Curse you right now if I could be bothered,” she remarked offhandedly.

“Ah, no you wouldn’t,” he replied easily, “You love me too much,”

“I wouldn’t _hurt_ you, just… annoy you a bit. Maybe everything you cook would be just the wrong side of burnt, or everything you drink would just taste of sparkling water, or--”

“Stop, stop, stop! That’s pure cruelty, Michelle!” he exclaimed. He could practically _hear_ the smirk in her voice,

“That’ll teach you to snoop on our rituals.” she declared.

“_I wasn’t snooping!_” he cried, “I basically live there, and FRIDAY didn’t tell me I wasn’t allowed in!”

“I’m messing with you, Parker. The only reason we really _have_ to do them in private is because we might scare the poor Humans,” she mocked. Peter opened his mouth to reply when his phone alerted him that Ned was calling.

“Oh, hey, I gotta go, Ned’s calling- Spider-Man emergency,” he explained.

“Alright, Spider-Boy, go save the world,” she answered dryly, “Love you, dork,”

“Aww, she does care! Love you too, MJ!” She hummed noncommittally, “Bye!” he hung up the phone to answer Ned’s call.

“Peter? Suit up, we’ve got a Shifter on the loose at Brooklyn Visions Academy.” Ned informed him.

“What’s going on? Are they going after the kids?” Peter questioned, horror rising in his chest. Fuck, that was the last thing they needed.

“No! No, they’re just stuck to the outside of the building- seems like a first timer, nothing you can’t handle.” Peter breathed a sigh of relief, transferring the call from his phone to the mask of his suit as he climbed out of the window. Ned updated him whenever anything changed as he swung over, until he was finally at the school.

“Okay, I’m gonna mute you while I deal with this, ‘cause it seems like a delicate situation,” Peter told him. Ned hummed his assent, and Peter swiped his hand to mute the call. He swung up to where the kid was clinging to the wall of the school and stopped in front of him. “Hey, kid. You hangin’ in there?” he joked, and the kid gave a soft laugh. Good. Step one: help him relax. “What’s your name?”

“Miles,” he replied shortly.

“Okay, Miles,” Peter began, “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say you’ve only just got your powers.” The kid nodded, “That’s alright, I can--” The kid disappeared in a shower of bright, glitchy-looking sparks and in his place sat a small spider. Before Peter could even register the change, the same sparks appeared and Miles was back again. He hung precariously from the bricks by one hand, and then it suddenly occurred to Peter that maybe he should get him onto solid ground. “Give me your hand,” he said, reaching out to Miles. Without hesitation, Miles clamped his free hand firmly onto Peter’s. “Hold on and _don’t panic_.” Peter implored.

“Why would I—“ His question was cut off by the loud yell that bubbled up out of his mouth as Peter swung a web towards a lower-sitting roof, hanging on to Miles tightly. When he landed on the flat rooftop, he set Miles gently on his feet. The other boy dropped his hands to his knees and breathed out heavily. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, I’m gonna puke, oh my god,” he panted, and disappeared into his spider form again. When he reappeared as a human, Peter shook his head and said,

“You’re gonna have to get a better handle on that, kid.”

“I-I know.. It’s just.. I panic, and-” he broke off, a nervous expression painted on his face.

“I get it, believe me, I get it. Look, watch. Breathe out, and stay calm, and try and transform on command. Once you’ve done it once it gets so much less… insane. Here.” Peter inhaled, flickering briefly into his spider form and back again. Miles copied him, and after one failed attempt, immediately did the same. “You’re a natural, kid!” Peter praised, and smiled as a proud grin stretched across Miles’ face.

*~-~*

They spent a few more minutes practising and keeping Miles calm, until the boy told him he felt ready to head back to school. “Alright, if you’re sure,” replied Peter uneasily, scrawling his and Ned’s Magical advice line’s numbers on a piece of paper, “But call any of these numbers if you need _anything_, and I’d feel better if we talked again soon, yeah?” Miles nodded cautiously, and Peter helped him to the ground, giving a reassuring squeeze before reluctantly letting him back into school. He finally unmuted Ned as he headed back to his apartment.

*~-~*

“_Dude!_ I saw everything! We’ve never seen a Shifter like that around here! I wonder if he’ll-” began Ned excitedly.

“_Ned._ We are _not_ studying the middle-schooler.” Peter interrupted firmly.

“Aww… but-”

“_No._ But, I think I got a new spider-mentee out of this, and… God, I hope the kid’s doing okay.” he muttered, concern swelling in his chest.

“Peter, I’m sure he’s fine, and if he has any sense at all, he’ll call one of us as soon as he can.” Peter sighed. He knew that was true, but he couldn’t help but worry. Was this how he made Mr Stark feel? Probably. He made a mental note to apologise to his mentor at the earliest opportunity. He ended his call with Ned a few minutes later, when he swung in through the window of his bedroom.

“Peter, is that you?” called Aunt May from the living room.

“No, it’s your _other_ spider-nephew,” he returned sarcastically.

“Oh, Andrew! Thank God you’re here!” she chuckled, as Peter marched into the living room, mock-affronted.

“Do you have another vigilante-superhero-spider-nephew you’re not telling me about?” he demanded, throwing himself on the couch beside her. She slung an arm around his neck and brought him in for a hug.

“Aww, Petey, you know you’re the only vigilante-spider-nephew I have room for in my life! Anyway, I was feeling like eating out today, do you want Thai?” she asked.

“I would larb that,” he replied with a grin.

*~-~*

An hour later, they were sat in their favourite Thai place and Peter was listening to May chatter about her work through a mouthful of food.

“And on my way home today, I stopped at the apothecary to pick up some mage-root, and they were completely sold out,” she complained. Peter groaned,

“Aww, man! And we’re all out?” May nodded sympathetically, “We have an AcaDeca competition this week! I swear your luck potions are the only reason we win and Flash doesn’t just smash his head against the bell and yell whatever crap comes into his head at that moment.” May gave a short burst of laughter, and shook her head.

“I thought Flash didn’t believe you were magic?”

“He doesn’t, but with a little… _persuasion_ from Sally’s siren powers, he’ll drink the bottle of ‘water’ MJ offers him before contests.” he gave an embarrassed laugh. May pursed her lips disapprovingly.

“I don’t know how I feel about you tricking him into using magic against his will… If he ever finds out, he could press charges against all of you. That’s the kind of thing that sinks Inhumans.” Peter winced at her casual use of the word Inhuman- it had never been a nice word to hear or read thrown around- and May’s face filled with concern. The realisation dawned on her and she smacked herself on the forehead. “Oh, right-- different generations. I’m sorry, Pete, I’m trying to be better with that,” she apologised.

“It’s okay!” he reassured her, “Anyway, did I tell you about this new kid I met today?” he chirped, launching into the tale of how he’d met Miles that day. She listened with avid interest as he chattered away, until they finished their food and headed home.

*~-~*

The next afternoon, Peter _bolted_ from his his last-period class and tapped into his super-speed just a _little_ to get to Happy’s car faster.

“Woah! Kid, aren’t we waiting for your friends today?” Peter deflated a little, feeling guilty that he’d left MJ behind. He shook his head in reply to Happy.

“Just MJ, Ned has a family thing,” he explained. As if on cue, MJ neatly rapped on the tinted windows of the car, and Peter leaned over to let her in. “Sorry! Sorry, I just--”

“You forgot about me?” she finished dryly. “It’s cool, you’ll just have to make it up to me in some way later,” Peter instantly brightened at her words,

“Oh! I can! We have a surprise for you in the lab!” he exclaimed brightly. She tilted her head.

“Oh yeah? Feel like letting me in the car so I can see?” She rolled her eyes, a fond smirk playing on her lips. Peter gasped, hitting himself on the forehead,

“Sorry, sorry!” he cried, leaning over to open the car door for her. She settled in the back seat, greeting Happy with a nod and a half-smile. Peter practically buzzed with excitement the entire ride and walk to the lab, the grin on his face threatening to split it clean in two.

Once they were finally settled in the lab, Peter, still grinning, looked up and addressed the ceiling. “Is she ready, Fri?”

“Affirmative, Spider-Parker. Would you like me to connect you?” Peter turned to MJ,

“I asked her to call me that,” he told her, grinning stupidly at his own joke.

“Connect us? Peter, what’s going on?” He flapped a hand to shush her, and she narrowed her eyes. He dropped his hand like her gaze burned him.

“Shhh… All will be revealed. Connect us, Friday.” The screen in front of them projected the magnified image of a face, unmistakably that of Princess Shuri.

“Peter?” she asked, her beautiful, accented voice filling the room.

“I have someone for you to meet!” he exclaimed, gesturing grandly to where MJ was stood. Or, where MJ should be stood. She was rooted to the spot, fighting to get the awed look on her face under control. Peter bolted over and dragged her from her seat into Shuri’s eyeline. “This is Michelle!”

“My friends call me MJ,” she blurted. Peter gasped, mock-affronted.

“Hey! Ned and I had to work for _years_ to be allowed to call you MJ! How come she gets to the first time you meet!” He paused, pretending to think hard. “Oh, right. Because you’re a dumbass and you two have been flirting over Twitter for months.” MJ hit him on the shoulder and he paled, looking up at Shuri. “Okay, she’s definitely gonna curse me for that, so I’m gonna go work on my war robot, you kids have fun!” he rushed out in one breath, before scuttling across the lab to where his robotics project sat. MJ looked up, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Um, hi.” she greeted. Shuri’s answering smile made her heart flutter.

“It’s so good to finally meet you, MJ. You’re even prettier in real life,” MJ gave a choked off gasp. Princess Shuri thought she was pretty? MJ could die a happy Witch now.

“I- Uh- Nuh uh!” She replied, instantly afterwards cringing at what she’d said. “I- I mean… Thanks. You’re… you’re really pretty too.” Peter gave a loud, frustrated groan, storming over and dragging his robot behind him.

“The whole point of this was so that I wouldn’t have to suffer your flirting over Twitter any more. This is _actually worse_. So, Shuri, do you want to see my robot?”

“Of course!” she cried, tweaking the screen on her end. She watched with interest as Peter disappeared into his spider form and scuttled up the side of his bot, into the control room. He raced around the room, climbed walls, hanging precariously from one leg on the ceiling. A shield unfolded from behind the bot, and it dropped low to the ground to crouch behind it. After a couple more minutes of demonstrating the bot’s features to Shuri, it bent its legs in what was meant to be a curtsy, and Peter hopped out, shifting back into his human form. He bowed deeply to Shuri.

“What do you think of SBIDER?” he asked, a hopeful look painting his features.

“Spider?”

“No, SBIDER: Spider Bot with Incredible Dexterity for Excelling in Robo-battles,” he explained, as if it were obvious. “I mean, obviously the exoskeleton isn’t finished, and I still need to get Mr Stark to help me with the AI, but-”

“Peter!” she interrupted. “It’s so cool! You have to ask your dad if he can fly me out to witness the battle!” she grinned. Peter squeaked indignantly.

“Mr Stark is _not_ my dad!” he yelled.

“Is too,” countered MJ calmly, “You called him Mr Dad the other day,” Shuri broke into peals of laughter.

“He really- Did he actually- And Stark doesn’t know?” she gasped out between bursts of laughter. MJ shook her head, and the corner of her lip twitched, threatening a smile. “Glory to Bast! I _can’t wait_ to tell him!”

“You guys talk?” exclaimed Peter incredulously.

“Obviously. He’s one of my broken white boys,” she grinned. Leaning in towards the camera, she locked eyes with Peter, “So are you,” Peter looked _horrified_ and MJ couldn’t hold back the laughter at his expression. Peter pouted as the two girls laughed at him.

“I wish you were actually here so you would be too busy making out to make fun of me,” he pouted.

“Just because your pretty friend likes me and not you,” Shuri teased, deflating a little when MJ tensed. “Oh, I- I’m sorry. Would you prefer it if I stopped-”

“No! No, it’s fine, I promise,” MJ assured her.

“Okay, I’m gonna… go… say hi to Ms Potts! Yeah, say hi to Ms Potts.” announced Peter, shuffling out of the lab awkwardly. He was willing to bet that MJ would be blowing up his phone (although double-texting counted as blowing his phone up for MJ) about how pretty and smart Shuri was in the next half hour.

Peter skipped his way to Tony’s lab, letting himself in soundlessly. He crept up behind Mr Stark, leaning over to check whether he was working on anything important before loudly chirping,

“Hey, Mr. Stark!” Tony practically jumped a foot in the air.

“Jesus, kid!” he exclaimed, clutching at his heart, “Shouldn’t you be… somewhere that’s _not_ here?”

“Yeah, but I was getting bored of MJ and Shuri’s awkward, lesbian attempts at flirting. Seriously, how can someone be so smooth over Twitter- _Twitter_\- and then be so awkward in real life?” Peter threw himself dramatically over the empty workbench behind him.

“How indeed,” Tony chuckled. “Well, to be fair, it took me and Steve the better part of a decade- and an intervention from Pepper and Nat- to pull our heads out of our asses and do something about our feelings,” Peter sighed heavily.

“I wish I had a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend,” Tony ruffled his hair.

“Not to sound like an old man, but you’ve got time, kid,” Peter gave his best ‘_are-you-shitting-me-old-man_’ face and Tony held up his hands in surrender, “Okay, okay! I know, but look at how old _I_ am, and how long it took me to find my Person. All I’m saying is, don’t worry too much, because if it can happen for me, it’ll happen for you.”

“Aww! Mr. Stark, am I making a mistake or was that sw-” Tony clamped a hand over Peter’s mouth.

“Uh uh uh! That’s my quota of feelings for the week. What’s new with you, kiddo?” And so Peter once again told the tale of how he met Miles, Tony nodding along in all the right places, until Peter got to the part where he gave Miles the phone numbers. “Hold on.” Tony held a hand up to silence him. “You gave some _random kid_ your _civilian_ phone number?” he demanded. Peter shuffled awkwardly.

“Well, yeah, but-” At that moment, Tony’s lab doors burst open, making him throw his arms up in mock frustration. Pepper and Natasha stood in the doorframe, both looking serious and distressed.

“Tony. We have to talk.” said Pepper gravely. Tony buried his head in his hands.

“Oh _god_. What did I forget to sign this time? It wasn’t your birthday, was it?I’m sure I haven’t-”

“Tony!” Natasha interrupted sharply. “This is _important!_”

“It’s about Harley,” explained Pepper, “I- I had a Vision.” Peter’s stomach dropped. Ms. Potts’ Visions _always_ meant business. The three adults put their heads together for a few moments, Peter catching brief snatches of their conversation. “Not safe,” “-Can’t risk him,” “What if he’s hurt?” “-Pick him up as soon as possible.”

“Who’s Harley?” he asked. They all looked up at him as though only just remembering he was there

“I- Hang on a sec, Kid. Give me a minute here.” answered Tony harshly. Peter snapped his mouth shut, eyes downcast. “Sorry. Sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“I’ll go, it’s okay.” Peter assured him.

“No, no. You might as well stay. Things are probably gonna change around here, at least for a while,” Peter shifted uncomfortably, stomach dropping again. That was _never_ a good series of words to hear. “So, Harley is this kid I met a few years ago in the Mandarin fiasco- Lives in Tennessee, total asshole, demon, about your age, Pete, lives with his mom and little sister, did I mention asshole? I think so. Uh, Pep had a Bad Feeling-” Peter could tell from the way Tony said it that it was a Capital Letter Phrase- “about… stuff down there… So we’re gonna go get him, his sister Abbie and his mom from Tennessee and bring them here, where it’s safer.”

“Oh…” said Peter quietly, a strange tense feeling he couldn’t quite explain sitting in his chest. He weighed his options on how to reply without sounding like a total asshole. “That’s… nice,” He could tell from the expressions on the adults’ faces that that had been the wrong thing to say. “I mean, I’m glad he’s gonna be safe. Nobody should have to live somewhere they aren’t.” He breathed heavily as quietly as he could, trying to dissipate the weird feeling. He glanced down at his phone. “Oh- MJ texted me!” he lied, “They want me back in the lab!” Lie. “Can’t wait to meet this Harley kid, Mr. Stark,” he called as he left the lab. Absolute and total lie.

And then it hit him. He was _jealous._ Fucking jealous. Of some kid who was fleeing his _home_ because of how they treated the Magical there. Did that make him an asshole? Definitely. He slumped down against the wall,dragging a hand down his face. God, he needed someone to talk to about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come say hi on[ tumblr](https://wlwparkner.tumblr.com) or [twitter!](https://twitter.com/30sdaisy)


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